Pie ere mercier



(No Mode.)

P. MERCIER. MATERIAL POR'PROTBGTING vBssBLs, RBGBPTAGLBS, m. No. 561,905.

Patented June 9, 1896.

W.. M v R ber.

ATENT price,

PIERRE MERCIER, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MATERIAL FOR PROTECTlNG VESSELS, RECEPTACLES, gcc.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 561,905, dated June 9, 1896.

Application tiled September 4,

1894. Serial N0- 522,114. (No specimens.) Fatented in France August l1, 1894, No. 240,088,

and in England August 22, 1894:,lil0.16,001l

To all whom, t may concern,.-

le it known that I, PIERRE MERCIER, a citizen of the Republic of France, and a resident of 7G Chancery Lane, London, England, have invented a certain new and useful Improvenient in Materials for Protecting Vessels, Receptacles, Articles of Clothing, of Furniture, and the Like, (for which I have obtain ed patents in France, No. 240,688, dated August l1, 180i, and in Great Britain, No. 16,001, dated August 22, 1894,) of which the following is a specifica-tion.

My invention relates to a new or improved material for protecting vessels, receptacles, articles of clothing, of furniture, and the like, which is applied in the form of a sheet or layer or sheets or layers of suitable shape and thickness and maybe made of im permeable material, such as india-rubber. The characteristic feature of this material is to expand into its normal position after it has been punctured, so as to close the opening formed as soon as the puncturing tool or implement is withdrawn from the opening, and provided this tool has not removed too considerable a portion of the said material.

lily invention is based upon the fact that some absorbent-s, such as india-rubber or gelatin, swell when imbibing absorbable substances, such as vaseline for india-rubber and water for gelatin; and its object is to produce a new material capable of general application and of rendering vessels, receptacles, and objects of every kind impermeable when applied upon their surface.

In carrying my invention into practice I use linen, canvas, or other suitable fabric made preferably, with strong and but sli gh tly extensible threads of hemp, dax, cotton, silk, or other suitable material capable of being woven at least in one direction with threads of different material either not extensible, such as wires, or more or less elastic, such as wool or even ordinary vulcanized india-rub- I use by preference a fabric having relatively loose meshes, so that they may be readily penetrated bythe absorbent used and may lirmly retain the latter. The absorbent I prefer is slightly-vulcanized india-rubber, of which I spread a suitable layer upon thc fabric, and I cause it to penetrate woll in its meshes.

Figures l, 2, 3, and l in the accompanying' drawings are sectional perspective views of portions of sheets or strips of material made in accordance with my invention.

The letter A indicates the coniining-webbing, and ll the absorbent material incorporated with the webbing, so as to have its molecules put under compression when impregnated with the oil or substance in liquid form.

I may, as shown in the accompanying drawings, apply this material on one side only of the linen, Fig. l, or on both sides, Fig. 2, or place it between two or three layers of linen, Figs. 3 and 4.

In any instance the absorbent material and conning-webbing are incorporated in such manner that the absorbent material when properly impregnated with liquid has its molecules held. by the webbing in a state of compression, so as to instantly expand into and lill any opening which maybe formed therethrough.

I subsequently subject the india-rubber to a boiling process in the ordinary way or to any other treatment in order to obtain` by preference, a moderate vulcanization, as india-rubber which is not much vulcanized is more absorbent and remains more flexible and more plastic after its nnal treatment according to my invention. The treatment to which I subsequently subject the sheets of india-rubber thus wrapped or incased in linen consists in exposing the latter to the 4action of liquid or solid vaseline, paraffin, wax, or grease to that of any other suitable mixture of these substances alone or mined with suitable organic oils or fats. I usc heat when needed to facilitate the operation, and I allow the substances to act on the india-rubber until the latter has absorbed a suflicient quantity thereof and is sufficiently softened, distended, and swollen. Being held by the nonextensible linen, the india-rubber is compressed in all 9 directions in such a manner that if the sheets thus prepared are punctured the material returns forthwith to its original place, and thus closes the opening formed. For the same reason,when the above-mentioned sheets are cut IOO by means of scissors or otherwise the edges assume in the different cases set forth the form shown in Figs. l, 2, 3, and 4. Then gelatin or other analogous substance, such as gums or lichenin, is used as an absorbent, Isubject it to a similar treatment by causing it to absorb a suitable liquidsuch as glycerin, water, and other suitable liquids-instead of using slightly-vulcanized india-rubber distended and swollen by vaseline or other suitable substance. I may likewise apply distended or swollen india-rubber upon afabric by any suitable means.

This new fabric may be advantageously used for the purpose of rendering various articles air and water proof and protecting them from ordinary exposure and accidents resulting from puncture/S or perforationssuch as, for instance, boot-soles, carpets, the., floating bodies, boats, buoys, &c., and all kinds of receptacles, reservoirs, gas-holdersby applying in any suitable manner by means of adhesive or other means one or more sheets of the fabric thus prepared upon the surface required to be protected and preserved either inside, out-side, or within the thickness of the said article or object.

-When the above-described fabric is used for preserving from the effect of punctures elastic receptacles capable of increasing in size in a given direction-such as, for instance, the air-chambers of pneumatic tires, which are liable to become lengthened and to increase in diameter-I preferably cut the fabric in the direction of the linen threads if only one linen layer is used, Fig. l, or in the direction of the threads of one of the linen strips if several are used, Figs. 2 and et, and they are not all placed in the same direction. I thus obtain sheets or strips of myimproved material which are not extensible in the direction of their length and breadth, and I cause these sheets or strips to adhere upon sible threads in one direction and of more or less elastic threads in the other, such as wool or threads made of ordinary vulcanized india-rubber. I may also replace the canvas or fabric made of threads arranged at right angles to one another by any other fabric, and even by felt having fibers crossed in every direction, such as cotton-wool.

IVhat I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,-is-

l. As an improved article of manufacture an impregnated absorbent material substantially such as described formed into a selfhealing fabric having nonelastic confiningthreads incorporated in the impregnated portion, whereby the absorbent material is held under molecular compression; substantially as described.

2. As an improved article of manufacture an absorbent rubber fabric having non-elastic confining-threads incorporated therein an d impregnated with oil throughout the portion containing the confining-threads whereby the rubber is held under molecular compression; substantially as described.

3. As an improved article of manufacture, a self-healing fabric consisting of slightlyvulcanized india-rubber impregnated with liquid vaseline in the presence of heat, and

having non-elastic confining-threads incorporated therein prior to impregnation; substantially as described.

PIERRE MERCIER. lVitnesses:

G. A. DE KAroN, J. L. NAZE. 

